Some relief for Connect customers

CONNECT customers should breathe a sigh of relief after the internet service provider introduced a new plan – Connect Velocity as a choice for customers migrating to its new broadband plans.

For the past three months the Consumer Council had been inundated with complaints from loyal Connect customers over the ISP’s proposed new plans that saw customers on the $35/month plan losing out 4GB of data allowance.

Customers, who had for long remained with Connect instead of exercising their choice with other internet products in the market, were being asked to move to the new plan with a 1GB data cap and 1mbps speed. The Consumer Council had relayed its concerns to the Fiji Commerce Commission that the new plans were not fair to these customers as Connect had chosen to base the new plans on speed; something that Connect cannot guarantee. Also customers had signed up service agreements with Connect for their respective plans and the ISP’s policy to automatically move customers to the new plans is unfair.

Now On 1st March Connect launched ‘Connect Velocity’ which allows entry-level customers on the $35 plan to keep their 5GB data cap and also enjoy 10mbps speeds. This comes as a relief to these loyal customers. The Consumer Council has noticed that subscribers to telecommunications services whether it be internet or mobile telephony are often not rewarded for their loyalty.

The Council is advising Connect broadband customers to take advantage of the new ‘Connect Velocity’ plan as the ISP moves its base service to higher speeds and data caps. Customers should also inquire with Connect regarding their security deposits as the amounts for the new plans may be different from what they have paid for the old plans. Connect has also informed the Council that security deposits will transfer to the new plans like Connect Velocity, however customers may need to pay a bit more if the new deposits are higher.